Yeah Complicated
by Eiskralle1
Summary: When Lady Blanc decided to invite a lonely adventurer into her household, Financier was not thrilled at all the extra work this promised. But as it turns out, paperwork is the least of the changes Blizzard brings into her life, and not all of them bad.
1. Prologue: Et tu, Blanc? (ReWrite)

**Prologue: Et tu, Blanc?**

CPUs have been known for occasionally making impulsive decisions and foolish life choices. Thankfully for Financier, Chamberlain of Lowee and self-proclaimed queen of the ordered workspace, Lady White Heart has always been above such foolish impulsiveness.  
At least until she decided a young adventurer who'd helped her get her sisters out of trouble was now going to live with her. 

The fateful day started out like any other for Financier. Her alarm clock woke her up at 6:45, at great risk to it's own health. After deciding to spare the little thing's life, she dragged herself out of bed and over to her bathroom, where she started the arduous task of making her tired self perfectly presentable.

Once her hair was straightened out, her makeup applied and she had carefully attached her mother's hairclips, her next stop was the Holy Coffee Machine.

It fully deserved the title and the capital letters. After all, she had paid a lot of money for it, and it has enabled the Chamberlain of Lowee to function in the morning for more than four years with delicious coffee.

So, once the first mug of black lifeblood had been consumed, Financier left the machine to refill the mug, while she walked over to her closet and opened the left side, which was almost entirely filled with near-identical red maid uniforms. After getting dressed with care, woman and coffee finally left the little apartment in the Basilicom's habitation wing.

At 7:30 she arrived in the foyer and got a report from the nightshift receptionist, and then made her way over to the CPU's quarters, where the first irregularity of the day manifested when she learned that Lady Blanc was already out, gone into town with the twins.

An irregularity however, that was allowed for in her morning routine, as the CPU and the Candidates were prone to operating to a different schedule than Financier, if they had one at all.

So the chamberlain merely used the opportunity to check both Blanc's and and the twin's rooms for any damages or messes that would require the attention of the maintenance staff, and, satisfied that her Lady had properly taken care of her habitat this time, spent the next two hours wandering the Basilicom and checking on all the staff.

At 9:30 she finally deemed the day's work suitably progressed that she allowed herself a late breakfast in the main kitchen, and then made her way over to her office to get a headstart on the day's paperwork.

After a few hours of in-house paperwork and a few cups of tea, a staffer dropped off the mail, and she spent another 3 hours sorting through letters ranging from fanmail for Lady White Heart to petitions to restart the Player Two series, to reports about increased monster activity around the Kriko plateau.

Into this calming atmosphere of orderly productivity came the call from her Lady.

"Financier, I need you to be at the entrance with a medical detail in half an hour. The twins got themselves into trouble. Again."

So far, so relatively ordinary, warranting no more than a simple "Of course, Lady Blanc, everything will be ready."

The true madness started with Blanc's next words.

"Oh, and have an apartment prepared. The girl who helped me get them back isn't entirely useless, so I'm hiring her."

"O-of course, Lady Blanc. I'll get to it."

Only when her CPU had concluded the phone call with a typically brusque "See you then." did Financier let herself react to the words she had just heard.

"What the hell? Don't just invite in strangers!"

And so it came that on that afternoon, Financier found herself greeting the new arrival in the Basilicom's foyer, and wishing her Lady had at least stuck around for the introductions, instead of immediately rushing off with Rom and Ram.

"Why have you abandoned me, Lady Blanc?!" the chamberlain mentally griped, before turning her attention to the reason she wasn't currently making headway with the resolution of a legal dispute between construction contractors.

The woman that was standing in front of Financier was young, her unruly white and purple hair a perfect match for her worn cloak. Her smile seemed just a little bit nervous as she introduced herself:

"My name is Blizzard, but just call me Snowy. Looks like I'll be staying here a while, so I hope we'll get along. Nice to meet you!"

Financier took the offered hand, smiles warmly and introduced herself in turn, but she could only think about how much this woman was going to complicate her life.

She couldn't yet fathom just how complicated it was really about to get. But the Lady wished for her to stay, and what Lady Blanc wants, her loyal Chamberlain provides.

 **A/N: Hey everyone, this is a little peak at what I've been working on while I am takimg a break from "I'm the Protagonist, of course I can have two!".** **It's sort of a lower-deck episode centred around the best side character and an OC (so be warned, everyone who wishes to keep the cast canon-pure: turn back, here be original characters), but there will be plenty of CPU shenanigans as well. M** **ore to come soon, feel free to feedback what you think.**

 **2nd A/N: After massive rewrites, especially in this prologue, I present to you the new and improved version of "Yeah... Complicated."**

 **Big shoutout to AO3 user SphinxLord for betareading, and to my dear friend Nijura for making some excellent suggestions for the rewrites.**

 **Also, some good natured thumb-biting at some more accomplished writer's. You know who you are... and I hereby declare that I'm gonna own my decisions. Even if they're totally wrong.**


	2. 1: Every time I do this my way

As time passed, Financier started to get a better handle on just how Blizzard was going to impact life in the Basilicom.

The younger woman was obviously not used to staying in a big, organized place, and she spent a lot of time simply wandering the halls whenever she wasn't training or questing with Lady Blanc, exploring her environments and getting to know the place.

And wonderfully messing up everyone's schedules with her relentless curiosity, asking questions and distracting the staff.

It didn't help that the young adventurer was so damn enthusiastic about learning everything about everyone that everyone gladly took time out of their day to indulge her.

When the Lady had decided that her new friend would be living in the Basilicom, she of course hadn't considered the paperwork that it would generate. Financier had already had to adjust the grocery lists and the budget for cleaning and maintenance twice (she will forever marvel at the destruction this girl can cause by sheer accident, and at the adorably embarrassed smile she always reports these incidents with), and, of course, expand the dojo, which was now, for the first time in generations, used by someone willing to face Blanc in a sparring match, to everyone's considerable surprise (and awe).

The first time the chamberlain saw the adventurer meet Blanc's hammer with her staff she couldn't help but be amazed by the sheer ferociousness and grace the otherwise clumsy Snowy suddenly displayed when in combat

In the following weeks, she seemed to coincidentally have a lot of errands to run near the dojo whenever Blanc and Blizzard were sparring, and always found an excuse to watch a bit.

But what got to Financier the most was Blizzard's sleeping habits. Or rather, the lack of them. She had long ago gotten used to her Lady passing out in the library or her office, or finding Rom and Ram sleeping in the kitchen surrounded by cookie crumbs (she never tells Blanc about it), but the newest inhabitant of the Lowee Basilicom was something else entirely.

"I don't understand why you can't just sleep in your bed like anyone else! Or at least in your room if you have to sleep on the floor."

The perpetrator of puzzling petty problems looked up at Financier from the nest of cushions and blankets she had constructed in one corner of the enclosed balcony.

"Well… actually…" There was a pregnant pause, and Snowy looked puzzled for a moment, as if she wasn't quite sure how to explain, until her face lit up with an excitement that could only mean she had found a perfect explanation.

"Because that's boring!"

At that moment Financier was certain that this woman had been put on Gamindustri solely to torture her. That any minute now the twins were going to jump out from some hiding place and laugh at how she fell for their latest prank (although she wants to believe that Rom and Ram wouldn't be able to pull off something this elaborate, the twins have proven their ingenuity so often she's ready to question everything she knows when it comes to them).

Blizzard noticed her distress, and quickly backpedaled, realizing her explanation may not have been quite as succinct as she would have liked.

"I mean, it's an awesome bed. Really soft, best bed I ever slept in. And, and and…. And the room is really nice too, like, I didn't expect to get this much when Blanc said she'd hire me, even after I found out who she is," (because, of course, the ditz hadn't even realized her new friend was a goddess until a few days after moving into the Basilicom, and that's just so typical of her) "and…" After a moment's floundering, the young woman took a deep breath, calmed herself and then started her explanation once more in a much more measured tone.

"I appreciate all you've done for me, but I'm just not the type to sleep in the same bed every night. Finding my own sleeping place every night anew has become a habit, and it's just so much more… interesting, I guess. It's just something I do, and I'm sorry if I caused you stress with that."

A few seconds passed as the two women looked into each other's eyes, one pair sky-blue, nervous and just a little bit amused, one pair chocolate coloured, vacant and empty, the mind behind it crashed from the sheer absurdity of the situation. Then Financier's brain managed to reboot, and make sense of what the adventurer had just told her.

"You sleep in the hallways … for fun?"

Blizzard nodded, now once more grinning like the lunatic Financier was sure she was and something in the chamberlain warmed at the sight, because this was just so her, and she couldn't really stay mad, exasperation melting away in the face of the younger woman's sheer positivity.

"That's one way to say it. I mean, there's more to it than that, but yeah, that's an accurate summation for now."

Financier turned her head away to inspect the state of the room again (and to hide the small but significant blush that was suddenly creeping onto her cheeks).

"Alright, I guess it would be pretty rude of me to keep you locked up in your room, but at least try to stay out of the way."

Now smiling openly, Financier leveled an accusing finger at the woman on the floor.

"I won't have the staff tripping over you all the time, Snowy, you've cost us too many dishes already!"

A grateful expression crept it's way onto the white haired girl's features at the use of her nickname. Then she shuffled backwards, now grinning again, and whimpered in mock fear: "I won't hurt you or your tableware ever again, I promise! Don't hurt meee!"

Apparently, the over appliance of melodrama was more than Snowy's already strained patience for all things serious could take. She started giggling, and the sound proved so infectious, Financier couldn't help but join in, and as the two insomniacs shared a laugh in the stillness of the empty Basilicom, Financier thought to herself that this wasn't all that bad after all and she might actually get to-

"By the way, I love your PJs, the pink bunnies contrast nicely with your eyes!"

Kill this woman. Kill her and hide the body.

Thankfully, Financier managed to restrain herself from ending Snowy's life then and there, thus saving the cleaning staff some work and herself some months of running away from Lady Blanc.

After that, life in the Basilicom proceeded as normal, and the two women, having now reached an understanding of sorts, found themselves getting along rather well, Financier often staying around to talk to Snowy after her (terrifying/amazing) sparring sessions, and Snowy in turn occasionally stopped by Financier's office to just talk, mostly about Blanc, and Lowee's history, and other topics, and occasionally (attempt) to help out around the place.

It was on one of these occasions, four weeks later, that the chamberlain dropped a proverbial bomb on her adventurous friend.

"So, I hope you will be on your best behaviour."

"Huh? My best behaviour?"

Snowy looked up from the book she had been reading (a historical novel about some big battle between Planeptune and Lowee some three hundred years back) with a guilty expression on her face, which Financier was pretty sure was fake and only used to frustrate innocent Chamberlains who were just trying to do their jobs (without getting distracted by adorable house guests) and confessed:

"I wasn't listening, sorry. Got caught up in Purple Heart's speech before the assembly. It's funny how the viewpoint of the protagonist puts a very different spin on it. Back home it's remembered as a valiant effort for peace, but in this it comes off as an attempt to shift blame away from herself."

After marking her page with a slip of paper, she closed the book and stood up from the visitor's chair in Financier's office, stretched her back and then leaned over the desk, looking down at Financier.

"So, what were you talking about? Why do I have to be well-behaved?"

Sighing, the brunette pulled another requisition form from the in-tray (Nado needed a new vacuum cleaner. Again.), signed it, and forwarded it to the supply team (the shopping queens, as Snowy liked to call them), before answering.

"Because the CPUs of the other nations will be staying at the Basilicom for the next week."

"Oh right, for Blanc's birthday. Oh… shit."

At the outburst, Financier actually looked up from her paperwork, her gaze travelling upward to meet Snowy's (It took her a bit longer to get there, because the other woman was pretty big, and also quite tall).

"Let me guess. You haven't got a present?"

"Well…." The ditzy adventurer rubbed her neck awkwardly. "It may have… slipped my mind. I haven't really been keeping track of the date since I moved in here."

After recovering from a facepalm that would have made a certain starfleet captain proud, Financier quickly took stock of her desk, and came to a decision.

"This'll keep. Grab your coat, the market's still open, if we go now, you should have enough time to pick something out."

Suiting words to actions, the chamberlain quickly powered down her computer, put away her pens and quills, stood up and marched past a slightly stunned Snowy to the door.

"Come on. Get what you need and meet me at the front door."

That broke Snowy out of her stupor, and the younger woman hurried out into the hallway, allowing Financier to lock her office and place the little card that read "Off on an errand" into it's slot on the door. It was a bit dusty from disuse, but it still fit just fine. Then she turned to her friend and hit her with her best impatient glare.

"You're still standing there. I won't have you showing up to my Lady's birthday empty handed."

Snowy wilted under the ocular assault, but still found time to be concerned for Financier in turn.

"But, can you just take off in the middle of the day like that? You don't have to do this for me, you know?"

"As I said, it'll keep. I was long done with anything urgent, and if anything comes up, they can reach me on my phone. Now move."

Striding off towards the main hall, and the big entrance beyond, Financier called over her shoulder: "You've got five minutes!" And was rewarded with the sound of Snowy's boots thudding on the carpeted floor in a hasty sprint.


	3. 2: I remember what you said to me

"Did you really have to wear that thing?"

"What's the problem? I mean, yeah, it's a bit ragged at the edges, but it's served me just fine for years. It's not actually that ugly, is it?"

Financier glanced at her companion for about the twentieth time in the past 5 minutes, noting that Snowy at least had the decency of looking worried, although the chamberlain wasn't sure if the worry was about her choice of apparel, or just about making Financier angry.

"You are a member of the CPU of Lowee's household, and part of her questing retinue. And yet you are running around, in the presence of her chamberlain no less, wearing a cloak that looks like it has been chewed by about a dozen different monsters. In Planeptune colours!"

Seconds of silence ticked away, and Financier began to worry that her words had been a bit too harsh. After all, the other woman probably hadn't even thought about anything like that and just grabbed her regular cloak habitually.

But just as she opened her mouth to reassure her friend, Snowy's voice cut her off, in a much colder tone than Financier was used to hearing from the normally bubbly and kind adventurer.

"Don't badmouth this cloak. Ever. It has been with us from the very beginning, and it's my favourite piece of equipment.

And I'm proud of my country, and if Blanc had a problem with that I bet she'd have already told me."

Startled by the sheer force of the response, Financier's steps faltered, and she stood stock still for a moment, staring at Snowy's still moving back.

After a few seconds, the adventurer seemed to notice that her friend was no longer beside her, and turned around, gaze strafing the street before settling on the woman in the red maid dress, and, probably seeing the stunned expression on Financier's face, slumped a bit and muttered something under her breath that the chamberlain couldn't really understand.

Then she slowly, hesitantly made her way back over to where she had left Financier behind, a pained, worried expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, that was a bit harsh. But, yeah… I'm not gonna change, you know?"

A grin found it's way back onto her face, although it looked a bit strained to Financier, and she nodded, still slightly worried that Snowy might still be offended.

"Fair enough, I guess. I mean, I would probably still want keep faith to Lady Blanc if I moved to Leanbox or something. BUT," and here she lifted her finger accusingly, trying to break the tension with a bit of familiar banter, "I will make sure you get some clothes that don't look like they've been swallowed by a dogoo! It's official, we're going shopping next week!"

That seemed to do the trick, as the Adventurer's eyes lit up with amusement.

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea. If you're gonna drag me to more important events, I'm gonna need a dress, after all." While Financier's face lit up a solid crimson as the image of the tall, busty woman in a dress forced itself into her mind, Snowy started walking again, calling over her shoulder in a singsong voice: "And you're paying!"

The tension was thankfully broken, disappeared as quickly as it had come (but not forgotten, and Financier resolved to eventually find out what was behind her friend's sudden shift in behaviour), leaving the odd pair to stroll down towards the shopping district in companionable silence that was occasionally broken by friendly ribbing, mostly from Snowy, or complaining about co-workers and such, mostly by Financier.

After about ten minutes of this, they were getting close to the city centre, and they occasionally had to dodge people on the rapidly filling streets.

"It's getting pretty crowded, for an overcast late afternoon. Is everyone out for the market, or am I missing something?" Snowy finally gave voice to her confusion after they had to worm their way through a particularly dense crowd of jubilant teenagers, not appreciating the rather obvious stares that some of them had directed their way. "I mean, we've never had a market that attracted this many people, and definitely not in the afternoon. Is it some sort of Loweean thing?"

A flash of annoyance went through her as Financier giggled, and a glance downwards revealed a mischievous smirk on the smaller woman's lips, but she did answer.

"Well, we call it a market, but it's actually more of a cross between a market and a festival. There's a big portion of the shopping district where businesses and individuals can set up stalls and such. We've got music and even a few performance stages, and people come from all over Lowee to enjoy the atmosphere and buy things for the upcoming holiday season. Which is why it's perfect for you to find a gift for the Lady."

A surge of wounded pride tried to assert itself at the jab, but it wasn't very insistent, and Snowy remained firmly in control.

 _What is with you today? You're not usually this easy to rile up._

 _She challenged us. She keeps challenging us, and you're just letting her!_ came the reply from the back of her head.

Snowy shook her head, trying to dispel the fiery pride invading her thoughtspace.

 _She's doing her job, and teasing among friends. It's never been a problem before. Why now?_

Upon receiving only a mental huff and the sensation of a turned back, the adventuress turned her attention back to her surroundings, dimly noticing the fact that Finny was looking at her worriedly. Before she could address her friend however, she realized that they had now entered the market proper, and one of the bigger stalls, more a small cabin, immediately caught her attention.

"Oh, a P3! You've got a P3 here?! That's amazing, I gotta stop by there!"

Putting on her best puppy-dog eyes, she turned to Financier, and the older woman only chuckled at the display.

"Please, just, like, a few minutes. I didn't have breakfast, and their pudding is amazing, I'll even buy you some! Please?"

If the loweean chamberlain had any reservations, they were almost immediately swept away by the adorable sight of the tall, fit, undeniably badass adventuress begging like a little girl for her favourite treat. She looked around for a moment, surveying the surrounding stalls and stores, and then nodded.

"Okay, you enjoy your sweets. I can use this opportunity to get some errands done. I'll meet you here in 15 minutes. Deal?"

Snowy nodded happily, and stepped briskly towards the black and golden stall. Blocky red letters proudly proclaimed the edifice, modeled to evoke the image of a fairy-tale castle, to be "Peashy's Pudding Paradise".

Taking only a moment to admire the design, Snowy stepped inside and was immediately immersed in the sweet smell of sugar, cream and the dozens of different flavours that P3 was famous for.

 _That was kinda pathetic, but this is_ so _worth it._

Silently agreeing, Snowy stepped into the room, looking around. The walls, and the two storage racks that filled the room were heavily laden with sugary goodness, colourful labels cheerfully announcing flavours and prices. At the far end of the room there was a counter, unsurprisingly not manned by the eponymous blonde proprietor, who was probably busy running the main branch of the chain back in Planeptune, and beside that counter was Blizzard's goal.

The special edition display.

Peashy's Pudding Paradise was most famously known for it's seasonal, regional and event-specific special-edition puddings, and the upcoming birthday of a CPU was definitely one event that warranted it's own flavour, and, now that she knew there was a P3 here, Blizzard absolutely had to get it before the event ended and another flavour took it's place. Sadly, others had had the same idea, and there were a few people ahead of her, and so she settled in to wait while everyone ahead of her finished up their shopping, and took a moment to appreciate the familiar atmosphere. The cramped space between the towering stacks, the colourful displays and the air that tasted of sugar and cream and the subtle traces of a dozen flavours, all reminded her of the many hours she had spent in the main branch of the sweets company.

 _It's kinda not the same without Neptune here, though. We always went to P3's with Neptune. And she'd immediately run over to the special editions. And then she'd wait until we reached her to gasp and loudly gush over the flavour of the month._

"WHOA! No way! Blanc Manju flavour? Ooh, I gotta have that one!"

 _Exactly like that._

Blizzard froze for about a second, mentally processing the voice she had just heard and it's implications.

 _Wait, what?_

"Neptune?" And, true enough, the girl in the oversized hoodie was there, at her customary spot, stacking pudding cups into her bag. Upon hearing her name, though, she turned around, lips parting in a familiar grin.

"Blizz! Yo, what's up? Haven't seen you for years. What're you doing here?"


End file.
